Atlanta, L.A., Sacramento and Texas in Shooting Stars

Posted Feb 11 2010 1:26PM

NEW YORK -- A new Haier Shooting Stars champion will be crowned as teams representing Atlanta, Los Angeles, Sacramento and the state of Texas take the floor on Feb. 13, as part of NBA All-Star Saturday Night at American Airlines Center in Dallas. For the first time in the event's history, TNT and NBA TV analysts will participate in the event, each serving as the NBA Legend on one of the four respective teams.

The home team from Texas includes the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki, the team's all-time leading scorer, who was selected to his ninth All-Star Game, which will be played Feb. 14, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington; 2009 WNBA All-Star and All-WNBA First Team member Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Silver Stars; and TNT analyst Kenny Smith, a two-time NBA champion with the Houston Rockets (1994, 1995).

Team Atlanta features the Hawks' Joe Johnson, who was named to his fourth consecutive All-Star Game this year; Angel McCoughtry of the Atlanta Dream, the 2009 WNBA adidas Rookie of the Year; and NBA TV analyst Steve Smith, an All-Star selection in 1998 with the Hawks and a member of the 2003 NBA champion San Antonio Spurs; Team Los Angeles, which won the inaugural Haier Shooting Stars competition in 2004, is comprised of Pau Gasol, who will be making his third NBA All-Star Game appearance in 2010; Marie Ferdinand-Harris of the Los Angeles Sparks, who is a three-time WNBA All-Star; and NBA TV analyst Brent Barry, winner of the 1996 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest as a member of the Clippers. Team Sacramento is represented by the Kings' Tyreke Evans, who has won four consecutive Western Conference T-Mobile Rookie of the Month awards, and who headlines the 2010 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam Rookie Team; TNT and NBA TV analyst Chris Webber, a five-time All-Star, who averaged 20.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists over a 15-year career; and Nicole Powell, currently with the New York Liberty, who was a first-time WNBA All-Star in 2009 with the Sacramento Monarchs.

In last year's competition, Team Detroit captured its second title in three years, defeating host Team Phoenix in the final round with a time of 58.4 seconds.

Haier Shooting Stars will be televised live nationally as part of the NBA All-Star Saturday Night, which will also feature the Sprite Slam Dunk, Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, Taco Bell Skills Challenge, and NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas. TNT and ESPN Radio's national coverage will begin at 8 p.m. EST from American Airlines Center. The NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 14, will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in more than 200 countries and will be broadcast in more than 40 languages.

The Haier Shooting Stars contest features one current NBA player, one current WNBA player and one TNT on-air talent and legend on each team. There are six numbered shooting locations of increasing difficulty, with each team attempting to make all shots in numeric order in the fastest time. Each team will select a specific player rotation to follow throughout the competition. Each shot must be made before the next player begins shooting in succession. Teams have up to two minutes to complete the entire shooting course and the team that completes all six shots in the least amount of time is declared the winner. In the case of a tie, a shoot-off will be used to determine the winner.

Once again, every All-Star participant will join members of the NBA Family for the NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service on Friday, Feb. 12. The volunteers will participate in one of three projects in North Texas.

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